The Mysterious Deep and my Search for the Unknown

 Because, despite our differences, we shared one fundamental belief: that there is more to this world than what’s visible on the surface.
Jeremy wade 

A Fish Story

When I was a young boy I remember my father taking me to a local lake and fishing for bass. At first my attention was more aligned with the water and catching frogs than the patience of waiting for that first bite. Hours went by and no luck came to me until my dad told me to cast and pay attention to my rod. 

That is when I felt the hit. The bass furiously fought against me, a young boy, with all of his might. I reeled in that largemouth bass and a sense of pride came over my father's face I will never forget. 

Since that moment, fishing has been more than a part of my life, but a way to actually live my life to the fullest. 

Being a teenage country boy was boring. There was nothing to do but fish, bike and explore the woods. My friends and I would complain about the pure boredom we would have. Looking back at those times I now realize they  were quite possibly the most enjoyable parts of my life. 

Fast forward to my early adult years. I lost my passion for fishing. I was caught up with living paycheck to paycheck and trying to get ahead in the world. Stress seemed to be the haunting leech sucking my life dry of spare time and work, work, work to get ahead seemed to be the only option. 

Then I had my son. My son became a toddler and I decided it was time to introduce him to fishing as my father did for me. 

There is a very large dry dam which is used for flood control near where I grew up. I enjoyed many of summers fishing for trout, rockbass, perch and chubs in the Brandywine that ran through it. The best part is that it was barely accessible by foot and a long hike from the road. This made it plentifull of fish, birds, snakes and turtles. 

What a great place to take my son fishing.

He called it "THE WILD" and it was indeed the wild. Kingfishers sweeping down scooping up fish just feet away from our lines which continuously bent as my son reeled in fish after fish. 

He was hooked. There was no doubt about it that my son had learned the passion for fishing at an even younger age than I. 

One day I took him to  the secret fishing spot only accessible by a quarter mile walk through the creek since it was surrounded by a briar patch of thorns. We fished there for about an hour yielding the typical small chubs, perch and sunnies. All still really fun to catch for a young boy.

My son had the casting part down patent. He launched his hook, worm and weight down stream and then the pole bent. 

Often he would say "THIS IS A BIG ONE!" and reel it in like it was the fight of his life. So as his pole bent and he started reeling in I reassured his claim and said "Yea its big for sure".

The fish put on a fight. More than usual and I took careful notice that my son was struggling a bit to pull in this little fish. As he brought it in all by himself to the bank, I realized he pulled a larger trout than I have ever caught. 

`18 inches long Brook Trout. A native to the stream but a very rare catch indeed. I was so impressed and proud of my son and he knew it. To this day, its a bigger trout than I ever caught and I have yet to ever catch a wild brook trout.

The Fish Story Grows

 Life has many unexpected curveballs and to summarize my life I have had many changes not limited but including the restructuring of my loved ones and family.

Divorce can do a number on a person. It was fishing that helped me cope and clear my mind to focus on the important things in life. 

There is something about fishing. Something that no matter how well your home life is or is not, you go fishing and you are allowed to think. There is a moment of clarity. Sometimes just a moment, sometimes hours. You get to be with you, your pole and the water before you.

People walk by the waters around them everyday and never wonder. The mysterious deep and what we cannot see fascinates me. Every fisherman can attest, a record fish is just a par to be broken because there must lay a creature larger and more mysterious that has yet to be caught.

My family today includes my son and two step sons who which are learning the passion of fishing themselves. We take them fishing all night long. We take them fishing all day. Sometimes we have luck, sometimes we don't. 

When they catch one, the same joy that came over me and my son comes over them. When they look up at their mom, step dad and uncle, they see the amazement and pride. This does so much for little boys and girls. It's a sport that truly lives on generation to generation.

My one stepson was fishing for catfish with his Uncle, Mother and I then he bagged the biggest bass we have ever caught. He was embarrassed by how proud we all were of him. But it is hard not to be proud of such achievements.

A few weeks passed and there was a fishing tournament for a weekend. All ages were welcomed and the kids had lots of fun. Spending two whole days fishing and fishing and fishing some more. 

This is when our youngest reeled in the largest trout of any other male (Little Girl got the largest) and made adults everywhere in the contest fish harder hoping to take the trophy.  You can see the pure joy on a child's face which in my honest opinion proves fishing IS and ALWAYS WILL BE one of the best activities you can do with your child.

This fulfillment of joy and learning to become tuned with nature and one's abilities really strikes a freedom cord with the mind at any age. It releases something primitive that no electronic device or human invention can really give to a child. 

People are claiming that Poke a Man Go is getting kids outside of the house and is good for them. I say parents and guardians have the responsibility to get their kids out into the world. Fishing is a perfect way to do so. 

On The Water

What is it about the water that gravitates people towards it. All across the world, the majority of the population can be found within a hundred miles of the coast.

I have lived on a sailboat before. I gravitated towards water until I found myself sleeping on top of it. I am sure that most of the readers can agree, there is something, a deep connection to the water that always brings us back.

Whether it be the ocean, lake or river, it matters not where you cast your line or bathe in the sun. It's the sound. It's the look. It's the smell of the water. It matters not if you catch anything at all. The time spent fishing is time spent well. 

The older I get the more I want to fish. The more I want to fish the younger I feel. The younger I feel the less I am concerned with the stresses of the world. They Just Don't Matter.

My Fishing Binge

What is a Fishing Binge?

I coined the term myself to explain my actions when I just disappear for days, off the grid, off the beaten path and down to the river. 

I just had a 24 hour binge last night, yesterday and yestermorning. 

It just got dark out and we set out with some chicken livers, catfish hooks and a trip to the Susquehanna River Banks to reel in some channel catfish in hopes of a monster. We night fish for catfish because catfish are nocturnal in nature. Some catfish scavenge and some hunt but they all are most active in the dark. They sense their food by smell and movement and not their eyes. Truly mysterious creatures of which we as humans often overlook.

Unfortunately the river is low and the true monsters are laying out of reach from the river banks lately. This still did not stop the binge and we kept fishing even though we only caught a small catfish and had our bait robbed time and time again. 

Sometimes the lack of anything biting can cause boredom even to the hardened fishermen. Hours and hours with no action can leave you seeking other critters to catch to enjoy the water's edge while you wait in hopes of the mysterious monsters that lay deep below.

This bull frog could have ended up in a pot of water as food or bait for a large fish. Out of respect for nature and its abundance, we let it go. We knew the catfish were not biting and there was no need to throw him on a hook and toss him into the river. 

As the night went on this little guy hung out with us. Now almost not afraid of humans at all. Sitting next to our lantern plucking off mayflies one by one... this little frog was getting fat on the generosity of our lighting. 

Funny how things work. He could have met his demise on a hook but ended up hanging out and keeping us company. Makes you almost feel guilty for thinking about using him for bait. These are the thoughts that are conjured in your head when you are fishing. You philosophize things you normally do not. 

The night went on without much luck due to the low levels of the river. I decided to walk out the shallows and see how far I could walk into the pitch dark of the night. Areas usually covered with water were dry and areas usually never walkable were ankle deep. 

I found myself walking halfway out into the river. This river is not small by any means. I now understand why the natives called it "Mile wide, Knee Deep". 

As the water rushed around my ankles it was just me and a flashlight out in the middle of the river. Crawfish scrambling under rocks, a turtle made his way upstream away from me and minnows everywhere. 

I felt a sudden feeling of fear come upon me. Almost like when I stand at the edge of a cliff and have a sudden fear a gust of wind will send me to my doom. I was at complete and utter mercy of nature and the dark. The mysterious deep was only feet away and I could not even see it. The dark, the mysterious deep and the wild gave me a rush of adrenaline. 

The bigger the bait, the bigger the fish. That is what went through my head and I had a sudden feeling I was in danger.

 Lets be real here. We do not know what lays under the surface of the world's waters. That is one of the reasons why we fish. To explain the unexplained. 

So I rushed myself back to shore. It was time to get a little rest because in the coming hours we were going to take a boat out on a lake.

Later in that morning the sun came up and I found myself rowing away on a 80 foot deep lake. 

The weather was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. 

Maybe a little too bit beautiful because the sun was beating down hard on the boat and us all day long. 

Along the shorelines we fished for bait. Some spots teeming with fish to the point it looked like a fish frenzy on the water's surface. Tearing our worms apart and quite a fight one after another. 

We were aiming for large and smallmouth bass. We got rock bass and perch all day long. No record fish but definitely a record day. From early evening, to morning to lunch, we fished. We fished well into the next evening.

Finally the other boats went in on the lake but we stayed in hopes that the cats would wake or a big fish wouldn't have had their fill yet. 

Actually, this was our first time out fishing on this boat. We got the boat to expand our love of fishing and boy did it do just that. I cannot wait to take it back out.

The sun set and we just sat there on the boat. Lines in water, waiting and hoping, enjoying true privacy in nature.

The lack of sleep and a whole day of the sun beating down on me did its toll. 

I was home at 10PM, showered and out like a light.

I woke this am and found myself more relaxed than I have been in a while. Fishing does that to me me. It gives me an inner peace. I struggle with words to describe it. Something about being out on the water. Something about reeling that fish in that I can not explain. I truly and wholeheartedly enjoy it. 

Thoughts Concluded

If there is anything you get out of this article it is that you need to go fishing.

If you don't fish, learn to fish.

If you have not fished in a while. Go fishing.

Just go fishing. Teach your children to love the outdoors. They don't need technology to enjoy life. While their noses are buried in phones and tablets, they are missing the world all around them. 

Fishing teaches kids patience. Fishing teaches kids respect. When the bait is killed to fill a fish's stomach, the kids learn about life, death and the circle of life. They learn about how unforgiving nature is. 

Taking the kids to the water teaches them peace. It teaches them adventure as you seek new fishing spots. It is truly a rewarding experience for adults and children. 

Now put down your phone.

Just Go Fishing.